The Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) has shut down Dahua Paper Company Limited at Owiwi Village, near Obada-Oko in Abeokuta, over alleged illegal waste disposal and open burning.
The state government said the company’s activities contravened the State Environmental and Public Health Law 2006 and Section 2(b)(a) of the OGWAMA Law 2020, which prohibit individuals and organisations from burning waste in the open.
The enforcement operation was led by OGWAMA’s Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director, Faruk Akintunde, who said the company had been monitored for several months before the action was taken.
According to Akintunde, the company was allegedly operating an unauthorised dumpsite opposite its factory, where waste generated from its operations was being deposited and burnt.
He said the location of the dumpsite posed an environmental and public health risk because it was close to a river used by residents of surrounding communities.
“To confirm our intelligence report about them, the company was found operating at the illegal dumpsite, pushing the waste to a river at the end of the dumpsite, thereby contaminating the water bodies and polluting the underground water,” Akintunde said.
He added that the river served several nearby villages, potentially exposing residents to health risks from contaminated water.
Two lorries allegedly used to transport and dispose of the company’s waste at the site were also found and confiscated by the enforcement team, according to the OGWAMA boss.
Akintunde said the company would remain closed and face the full force of the law, while warning other individuals and businesses against illegal waste disposal and open burning.
He urged businesses that generate waste to register with OGWAMA and ensure that their waste was handled and disposed of through approved channels.
The enforcement, he said, formed part of the state government’s broader efforts to protect the environment and reduce the health risks associated with improper waste management and open burning.
